How to Get Your Photo on the Vintage Ford Cover!

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VFeditor_Aleesa
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2019 2:41 pm
First Name: Aleesa
Last Name: Drennen
Location: Indiana
MTFCA Number: 10000

How to Get Your Photo on the Vintage Ford Cover!

Post by VFeditor_Aleesa » Wed Jan 30, 2019 12:50 pm

Exactly how do you get one of your photos on the front cover of the Vintage Ford magazine?

SHORT ANSWER:

1. Photo must be digital.

2. Ideal ratio is 3:2. (same proportion as a typical 6' x 4" print)

3. Provide an unedited file at the size it was shot.

Ideally 18" wide x 12" high at 300 dpi or larger.

4. Main focus of photo should be on right half of photo.
But be sure to have something interesting on left side too. That will be the back cover.

5. Generally avoid zooming, especially if using a smartphone.
Zooming usually reduces the clarity of a photo.

6. Leave room to crop in.
Don't have key elements right at the edge of your frame. Take a step back and leave some "free space" to give us options to zoom in or out to get the best positioning of the elements for the cover.

7. Including people, especially fellow MTFCA members, can be a plus.
If your photo does include people, you need to secure permission from anyone whose face is clearly visible in the shot. If children appear in the shot, you will need permission from their parent or legal guardian. To make this easy, you can fill-in-the-blank standard adult and child photo release permission forms here:
GenericPhotoReleaseAdult.pdf
(34.99 KiB) Downloaded 145 times
GenericPhotoReleaseMinor.pdf
(37.99 KiB) Downloaded 140 times

8. Submit your Photo(s)!
Please don't email us your photos. They may exceed the email provider's size limitation either on your end or ours. We recommend using a file transfer service of your choice. Two excellent and free options are WeTransfer.com and DropBox.com.

If you prefer to use snail mail, send either a CD or a thumb/flash drive to us at MTFCA Editor, 2909 Paul Road, Cambridge City, IN 47327.

9. What's next?

If you don't hear from us, it means you have at least one photo still in the running. All submitted cover photos still in the running are reviewed for each issue by an editorial advisory panel. Fingers crossed, at some point we may be calling you with good news.

If, for some reason, the photo does not qualify for the cover, we will let you know or we may ask to include it in our "Ts Us!" centerfold section.


********************************************************

LONG ANSWER:

1. Photo must be digital.

The bigger the better. We recommend using a 12+ megapixel camera (most smartphones qualify these days). Ideally we want a photo straight from the camera that is at least 18" wide x 12" high at a resolution of 300 dpi. That's the same proportion as a typical 6" x 4" print. So, if you are sending us a digital .jpg image, the file size will probably be at least 13-23 megabytes.

If your file is not that large DO NOT UPSIZE it to meet that size. You won't improve the photo and it will just make it blurrier. BUT DO NOT DESPAIR, we have successfully used images that were 11" wide x 7.5" high at 300 dpi (7-10 megabyte file size). The image may print a little soft, but if the photo has the WOW factor it won't matter so much.

2. Bring the WOW factor.

Above all feature the T(s). And remember: Unique settings add excitement. Whimsy brings a smile. Drama is captivating. Large patches or swaths of cloudless sky, endless asphalt, featureless dirt, smooth sand or snow, blank walls, or an ocean of plain green grass tend to be boring and in most cases should be avoided. But it is okay to leave a little clear (or not so busy) space at the very top, right half of your photo for the magazine's masthead.

HINT: Share your favorite shots with family and fellow T enthusiasts to see which one earns the most praise, that one is probably pretty high on the WOW barometer.

3. Lead with a strong right and finish with a solid left.

The photo will go across both covers, so make sure the right half of your photo is very engaging and can stand alone, but don't forget to have something interesting on the left half as well, since that will be the back cover. Generally we try not to split a T down the middle, with half shown on the front cover and half on the back cover. But there are sometimes exceptions to this rule.

4. Generally avoid zooming, especially if using a smartphone.

For best resolution avoid using the zoom, especially on smartphones. It generally reduces the clarity of the image.

5. Leave room to breathe and crop.

When you are framing your shot, don't have the main elements right at the edge of the picture. Take a step or two back to widen the view and leave some free/empty space at the edges. This gives us more flexibility to zoom in or out as we experiment with the best cover positioning of the various elements in your photo.

6. People and seasonal themes are encouraged.

Consider seasonal or holiday shots and including people in your photo. We don't always keep our covers in step with the seasons or holidays, especially considering that we are an international club and have members that celebrate different events and have seasons opposite from the U.S. But sometimes it is nice to recognize a season or holiday with a special cover.

Including people, especially fellow MTFCA members can be a plus. IMPORTANT NOTE: If your photo does include people, you need to secure permission from anyone whose face is clearly visible in the shot. If children appear in the shot, you will need permission from their parent or legal guardian. To make this easy, you can download the fill-in-the-blank standard adult and child photo release permission forms linked in #7 above.

7. Altering or improving the shot.

Unless you are a semi-pro or professional photographer or are experienced in photo retouching, we ask that you don't adjust or alter the photos you submit. We reserve the right to make adjustments to suit the cover. If there are certain things you would like adjusted, just let us know that when you submit the photo.

8. Submit Your Photo!!

Please don't email us your photos. They may exceed the email provider's size limitation either on your end or ours. We recommend using a file transfer service of your choice or try one of the two suggested below.

WeTransfer.com This is basically a free and easy way to send large files by uploading them to the cloud. Their website is pretty simple, just put in my your email address in the "Your Email" box and my email address (VFeditorMTFCA@yahoo.com) in the "Email to:" box, put all the photos you want to send in a folder on your computer (up to 2GB worth), click on "Upload files" and select the folder to upload it, type a brief Message to me (if you want), and click on "Transfer". There is a verification code step to prove that you are a "real person." After I download the images, you will get an emailed auto response letting you know I received them.

DropBox.com If you are already have a Dropbox.com account, you can add a folder to your Dropbox called Vintage Ford and then add my email address (VFeditorMTFCA@yahoo.com) as someone who has shared access to the folder. If you don't already have an account and don't want to set up a free one, I can add a folder to my Dropbox and share it with you using your email address. Then all you have to do is upload the files to that folder.

Most people find the first option (WeTransfer.com) easiest, but either one will work. Remember to send the photo at the same resolution that it was taken. Please do not downsample images and also don't upsize them either.

If you prefer to use snail mail, send either a CD or a thumb/flash drive to us at MTFCA Editor, 2909 Paul Road, Cambridge City, IN 47327.

9. What's next?

If you don't hear from us, it means you have at least one photo still in the running. All submitted cover photos still in the running are reviewed for each issue by an editorial advisory panel. Fingers crossed, at some point we may be calling you with good news.

If, for some reason, the photo does not qualify for the cover, we will let you know or we may ask to include it in our "Ts Us!" centerfold section.
Aleesa – Vintage Ford Editor :idea:
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